'Has anyone ever seen "The Silence of the Lambs"? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man,' Mr Trump said.
US presidential candidate Donald Trump referred to Hannibal Lecter as a ‘wonderful man’ during a recent campaign rally.
The 90 minute speech, in Wildwood, New Jersey, saw Mr Trump complain about current President Joe Biden’s administration’s stance on migrants as well.
In front of 100,000 supporters, Mr Trump said: ‘Has anyone ever seen “The Silence of the Lambs”? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man.
‘He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? “Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,” as this poor doctor walked by. But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations, the late great Hannibal Lecter.
‘We have people who are being released into our country that we don’t want in our country, and they’re coming in totally unchecked, totally unvetted,’ he added.
‘And we can’t let this happen. They’re destroying our country, and we’re sitting back and we better damn well win this election, because if we don’t, our country is going to be doomed. It’s going to be doomed.’
The bizarre tangent appears to be linked to Mr Trump’s claims about those who cross the border being mentally ill or violent criminals.
He previously brought up Lecter in another speech, once calling him ‘legendary’, and in another instance, calling him a ‘nice fellow’.
The New York Times points out that Mr Trump has also referenced Al Capone – who he has compared himself to.
On Saturday, Mr Trump said: ‘I’ve been indicted more than the great Alphonse Capone. Scarface.
‘Al Capone was so mean that if you went to dinner with him and he didn’t like you, you’d be dead the next morning. And I got indicted more than him.’
The ex-president went back on the campaign trail briefly as he continues court appearances for his trial, accused of working with a tabloid publisher to prevent stories about his sex life becoming public during his 2016 presidential run.
The criminal trial, held in New York, is the first ever to be held for an ex-US president.
Since the trial began on April 15, Mr Trump has been subject to a gag order telling him not to make public statements about people involved in the case.
He was fined $9,000 by the court for violating the terms of the order.
But he recently made further comments on television, saying the jury is ‘95% Democratic’ and saying the judge is ‘rushing the trial like crazy’.
He had been fined a further $1,000 as a result, and given the letter raising the possibility of incarceration.
In it, Judge Merchan writes that Mr Trump ‘violated the Order by making public statements about the jury and how it was selected.
‘In doing so, Defendant not only called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of these proceedings, but again raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones.’
In recent weeks, witnesses in the trial included Mr Trump’s former presidential aide Hope Hicks, who became emotional during questioning and had to leave the court to compose herself.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
